In the field of aircraft reconnaissance where an area of terrain is surveyed for the detection of military invasion and the identification of possible targets of interest, prior techniques have been either ineffectual or inefficient. With prior systems the pilot/operator must constantly view the display of single or multiple sensors for extraction of intelligence information. The high rate at which the data are presented to him, the total volume of data, and the presence of irrelevant information severely impede his target-detection performance.
Prior to the present invention there has been no apparatus or technique available to sense and automatically identify that portion of the available scene having the greatest probability of including a man-made object. The present invention accomplishes that identification, and permits the operator to restrict further investigation to the areas identified.